Concentration of ores



. Patented in, 10,1921.

UNITED STATES 2 1 PATENT OFFICE.

CORNELIUS HORACE KELLER, 01' m mrcrsco, CALIFORNIA, ASIGIOI 130 mm mmnol noamnmrcan CORIOBATIOH. O! m YORK, I. A

(DEPOBATIOI OI concnlmrlon O1 0338.

This invention relates to tlie froth-flota' tion concentration of ores and is herein. described as applied to the concentration of a co nplex ore with the aid of the salt of an acid containing a complex radicle having such a metal as'iron in an anion group.

Such ores may be rich but of little commercial value unless the contained minerals can be individually collected in separate in concentrates. Moreover, such ores often contain iron in addition-to the more valuable minerals, and, for commercial purposes, it is often necessary to obtain concentrates relatively free from iron.

and other useful results have been attained by the employment of .various substances as auxiliaries to the usual mineralfrothingagents. Oneoftheso employed is a salt'of xanthic acid. Another I is d xanthogen. to the present invention an a substance may also beasaltpof an acid containingmch ametal as ironzin an anion' g'roup. In the procedure herein described this a is employed toenhancetheactiondl thffimauxiliary .Ihe process is herein illustrated as applied to the extremely re San Francisco Minesof Mexico silver-lead-ainc ore, and as carried out with potassium ferricyanide as the second auxiliary. ua d with sodium xanthate, but under such conditions that dixanthogen is formed, as after-a pear. r

The '?anides difier widely from other salts somew 'at inname. They are practically non-poisonous, are commu'cially available in large quantities at a price low enough to make their use feasible in canmercial flotation, and form well-defined crystu ,i Ore of San Mines of exico was ground in abalImill for fifteen min uteswith sodium sulphide uaedat the rate ofahalfpound tonofore..Theresults P p with five minutes in a' spitakasten subaeratlon machine to produce a lead-froth rougher concentrate. This agitatiouwas' conducted with the addition .3 p ad soda 0.8 und potassium 0.01 10 xanthate, 0.3 pound HQ- 634 oil, and 0.15 pound cresylic acid, all per ton ofore.

pulpgvere 0.5

ded water was Application fleliovcmber ll, 18!. Serial Io. 71,210.

pound sulphate of copper, 0.1. pound xanthate, 0.3 pound. Barrett No. 6'34 oil, and

0.2 pound steam distilled pine oil, :11 per ton of vore, and this pulp was then agitated ten minutes to produce a zinc-froth rougher concentrate.

The lead concentrate was then reagitated for minutles fwith {lhe fiarther addii tiono 0.1poun o-cresy'caci tono original one to form a finished lea d concentrate and a lead The: zinc concentrate was then reagitated for three minutes without any additional reagents to form a finished zinc concentrate and a zinc middling.

hb'llhe results are shown in the following Itwillbenotedthatthefinishedlead concentrate and the finished zinc concmtrate are above smeltcrs requirements that even the middlings mixed with their respective finished concentrates meet such requirements. Also the silver appears to a very large extent in the lead concentrate where it is most valuablef. thBesideshtlsl this a. very large ro rtion o e iron been re'ected and gon ti into the tailings.

it has been found that when equimolecular p rtions of potassium ferricyanide and um xanthate are agitated'together the xa nthate in such proportions and wi an thd froth otation proifm, they react to form and probably ferrocyanide of potassium. In the proportions of the exafitation such as are employed in i so ample above given, however, there is a large excess of potassium ferricyanide over such e l1uimolecular proportions and apparently a though the sodium xanthate is converted into dixanthogen (the latter being a substance which will assist the action of a mineral-frothing agent) there is a considerable amount of potassiumferricyanide still resent after this reaction. Potassium ferricya' nide is a well known oxidizing agent.

Having thus described one embodiment of v invention what I claim is:

L-The rocess of concentrating ores which consists in agitating a suitable pulp of an ore with a mineral-frothing agent and g a ferrlcyanlde adapted to cooperate with with a xanthate and a substance containin an anion groupincluding a metal adapte to react with the xanthate and produce a substance to cooperate with the mineralfrothing agent to produce a mineral-bearing froth containing a lar e proportion of a mineral of the ore, sai agitation being so conducted as to form such a froth,.and separatin the froth.

" 2 he process of concentrating ores which consists in agitating a suitable pulp of an ore with a mmeral-frothing agent and with a xanthate and a ferricyanide which react and produce a substance adapted to cooperate with the mineraLfrothing' agent to produce a mineral-bearing froth containing a large proportion of a mineral of'the orc,

' said agitation being so conducted as to form such a froth, and separating the froth.

a xanthate and" an'excess o 3. The process of concentrating ores which consists in agitatin a suitable pulp of an ore with a mineral-frothingagent and with a xanthate to ether with an oxidizing substance adapted to cooperate with the mineral-frothing agent to produce a mineralbearin froth containing a large proportion of a mineral of the ore, said agitation being so conducted as to form such a froth, and separating the froth, reagitating the remainder of the pulp with the further addition offlotation agent and separating another froth containing a large proportion of another mineral of the ore.

6. The process of concentrating ores which consists in agitatin a suitable pulp of an ore with a mineral othing agent and with tli mineral-frothing agent to assist in the pr duction of amineral-bearing froth containing a large proportion-of a mineral of the ore, said agitation being so conducted as to form' suclr a froth, separating the froth, reagitating the remainder of the pulp with the further addition of flotation agent and separating another froth containing a large proportion of another mineral of the ore.

7; The process of concentrating ores which consists in agitatin a suitable pulp of an ore with a'mineralrothing a cut and with a xanthatew and an excess 0 a substance which in part reacts with the xanthate to produce another substance and which is itself a substance containing a complex radicle containing iron both of which substances are adapted to cooperate with the mineralfrothing agent to produce a mineral-bearin" froth containing a large proportion of a ore with a mmeralothing agent and with mineral of the ore, said agitation being so a substance which in part reacts with the xanthate to produce another substance and which is itself a substance containing a complex radicle containing iron both of which substances are adapted to cooperate with the mineralfrothing agent toproduce a mineral-bearing froth containing a lar e proportion of a mineral of the ore, sal

agitation being so conducted as to form such a froth, and sepa ratin the froth.

4. he process of concentrating ores which consists in a 'tatin a suitable pulp of an ore with a mineralothing agent and with a xanthate and with an excess of a substance containing a metal in the anion group which in part reacts with the xanthate to roduce another substance land which is itse f a substance containing a-comp'lex rad-,- icle containin iron both of which sub stances are a apted to cooperate with the mineral-frothing agent to produce a mineral-bearing froth containing a lar proportion of a mineral of the ore sai agitation bein so conducted as to form such a froth, an separating the froth.

5. The process of concentrating ores which consists in agitating a suitable pulp of an conducted as to form such a froth, separating the frothi1 reagitating the remainder of 8. The process of concentrating ores which consists in a itatin a suitable pulp of an ore with a mlneralothing agent and with axanthate of an alkali metal and a ferricyanide so as to produce a mineral-bearing froth containing a large proportion of a mineral of the ore, and separating the froth.

9. The process of concentrating ores which consists in agitatin asuitable pulp of an ore with a mmeral rothing agent and with a xanthate of an alkali metal and a ferricyanide so as to produce a mineral-bearing froth containing a large proportion of a' Jn'ineral of the ore, separating thefroth, re-

agitating the remainder of the pulp with the ;-further addition of flotation agent, and

separating another froth containing a large proportion of'anothermineral of the ore.

'In testimony whereof, I have afiixed m3 signature to this specification.

CORNELIUS HORACE KELLER. 

